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Lillian G. Kohlhamer

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Lillian G. Kohlhamer
A white woman with dark hair, wearing a dark suit with a white blouse, and a dark hat with wing decorations
Lillian G. Kohlhamer, from her 1915 passport application
Born
Lillian Gonzales

November 13, 1870
Buffalo, New York
DiedNovember 26, 1929
Italy
Other namesLillian Gottlieb Kohlhammer
Occupation(s)Suffragist, peace activist

Lillian Gonzales Kohlhamer (November 13, 1870 – November 26, 1929), also known as Lillian Gottlieb Kohlhamer, was an American suffragist and peace activist, based in Chicago. She was one of the American delegates to the International Congress of Women held in The Hague in 1915, and at the International Woman Suffrage Alliance conference in Geneva in 1920.

Early life

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Lillian Gonzales was born in Buffalo, New York, eldest child of Frank Gonzales and Rosalie Davignon Gonzales.[1] Her father was from Cuba, and her mother was from Québec.

A group of white woman, standing on a ship's deck wearing hats and long coats, behind a banner that reads "PEACE"
Peace activists heading to the International Congress of Women in 1915, including Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, Jane Addams, Annie E. Molloy, and on the far right edge, Lillian G. Kohlhamer.

Career

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Kohlhamer was active as a suffragist[2][3] and pacifist in Illinois.[4] She was a member of the Bathing Beaches and Swimming Pools committee of the Chicago Woman's Club.[5] She also supported Chicago schools superintendent Ella Flagg Young.[6] In 1914 she withdrew from the Woman's Party of Cook County, citing "too much dissension in the organization".[7] She was a life member of the Art Institute of Chicago.[8]

Kohlhamer represented the Chicago Political Equality League, the Chicago Woman's Club, and the Illinois State Suffrage Association as a delegate to the International Congress of Women in 1915.[9][10] She was quoted on the execution of Edith Cavell in The New York Times, saying "It is barbarism. Those are wickedly extreme measures to take in this age of the world's history."[11]

In 1916 Kohlhamer was one of the Illinois suffragists at the national meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in Atlantic City.[12] She and Margaret Strand represented Illinois suffragists at the 1920 International Woman Suffrage Alliance meeting, held in Geneva.[13][14][15] During the early 1920s she did postwar relief work in Germany and Austria.[16]

Personal life

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Lillian Gonzales married businessman Robert W. Kohlhamer in 1894.[17] He died in 1920. She died at her villa near Florence, Italy, in 1929, two weeks after her 59th birthday.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Gonzales". Chicago Tribune. 1919-12-27. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "200 Dance at Suffrage Ball". Chicago Examiner. March 7, 1916. p. 13. Retrieved January 5, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  3. ^ "Suffragists Entertain Thousands". Chicago Examiner. June 6, 1916. p. 28 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  4. ^ "City Pacifists Ask Wilson for War Referendum". Chicago Tribune. 1917-02-07. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Chicago Woman's Club (1919). Annual Announcement of the Chicago Woman's Club. The Club. p. 85.
  6. ^ "Two Foes Assail Mrs. Ella Young". Chicago Tribune. 1913-12-15. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Bossism Charged to Women". Chicago Examiner. October 5, 1914. p. 8. Retrieved January 5, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  8. ^ "New Life Members". Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago. 17 (6): 13. September 1923 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ "Women with Peace Emblem Will Endeavor to End War". The Post-Star. 1915-04-16. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Congress (1st : 1915 : The Hague) (1915). Bericht-Rapport-Report. University of California Libraries. Amsterdam, International women's committee of permanent peace. p. 268 – via Internet Archive.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Chicago Women Shocked; But Mrs. Grace W. Trout Defends the Execution of Miss Cavell". The New York Times. 1915-10-23. p. 3. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  12. ^ "Suffragists Leave to Discuss Plans for Future". Chicago Examiner. September 4, 1916. p. 15. Retrieved January 5, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  13. ^ "Delegates Off for Voyage". The Mitchell Commercial. 1920-05-20. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Letter from Gladys Wilkinson". The Crescent of Gamma Phi Beta. 20 (4): 387. October 1920.
  15. ^ "Women of World are Expected at Geneva Meeting". Mobile News Item. June 5, 1920. p. 8. Retrieved January 5, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  16. ^ "Americans in Berlin Attend Fete for Russians". New York Herald. 1922-04-30. p. 56. Retrieved 2023-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Weddings and Receptions". Chicago Tribune. 1894-07-22. p. 24. Retrieved 2023-01-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Lillian Kohlhammer Dies in Rome". The New York Times. 1929-11-30. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-05.